VGP - Preliminary epidemiological investigation showed that four out of five Covid-19 cases confirmed over the past weekend are linked to three hospitals in the central city of Da Nang.

The above news was released by experts at the meeting of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control this morning.

These health facilities, as the experts said, are Da Nang Hospital, Da Nang Hospital C, and Da Nang Orthopedic and Physical Rehabilitation Hospital.

To prevent the spread of the disease, experts suggested all people who return home from Da Nang and are linked to the aforesaid hospitals must be quarantined for 14 days while health declaration must be mandatory for the others.

Genome analsysis showed that this is a new type of Covid-19, which is more infectious, said Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

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July 21.– United Nations’ (UN) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief said ‘things will be bad’ for Iran inspectors are denied access to suspected nuclear sites by the end of July, i24 News reported.

IAEA’s Director-General Rafael Grossi expressed his concern for Iran’s refusal to allow access and said it was an “absolute necessity for us to resolve this issue very soon”, adding that Iran should grant his inspectors access.

The Philippines said China’s exercises near the Paracel Islands were ‘highly provocative’ while Vietnam said they violate its sovereignty

Hanoi and Manila warned of growing insecurity in Southeast Asia at an Asean summit last week, amid concerns that China is advancing its territorial claims

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry sent a diplomatic note to China to oppose exercises that “seriously violate Vietnam’s sovereignty”

Vietnam and the Philippines on Thursday criticised China’s holding of military drills in a disputed part of the South China Sea, warning it could create tension in the region and affect Beijing’s relationship with its neighbours.

Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said China’s exercises in the waters near the Paracel Islands were “highly provocative”, while Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry called them a violation of sovereignty that could be “detrimental” to Beijing’s relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

China scheduled five days of drills from Wednesday near the Paracels according to a June 27 announcement by the Hainan’s Maritime Safety Administration. Vietnam has overlapping claims with China over the Paracels.

Vietnam and the Philippines have been the most vocal regional opponents to what they see as Chinese overreach in the South China Sea and its disregard for boundaries outlined in international maritime law.

French President Emmanuel Macron has named Jean Castex, who coordinated France's virus reopening strategy, as the country's new Prime Minister, after the former prime minister resigned.  

Paris, July 3.– Mr Castex, replaces Edouard Philippe, who was a part of the Macron Government since 2017 and resigned on Friday.

Mr Castex, 55, hails from the centre-right of French politics and served for two years as the second-highest-ranking official in the Elysee Palace during Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency.